Underwear



May 24, w38; i E., SANDERS www? 'A UNDERWEAR Filed July so, '1957 ply of the waistband I.

Patented May 24, 1938 PATE NT OF UNDERWEAR Bertram Sanders, South Orange, N. J., assignor to The Manhattan Shirt Co., New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application July 30, 1937, Serial No. 156,433

1 Claim.

This invention relates to underwear and more particularly drawers, The object of theinvention is to provide drawers, particularly mens shorts, with means at the waistband to permit the comfortable retention thereof around the waist of the wearer and expansion of the waist portion thereof to compensate for movement of the wearer permitting extension of the waistband under normal conditions of use. The specific advantages arising out of this construction will more particularly appear from the accompanying description.

In the drawing, Fig. 1 represents a side elevation of a pair of mens shorts in connection with which the invention is illustrated; Fig. 2 is an enlarged View of the outside of a portion of the drawers showing a section of the waistband slightly extended; Fig. 3 is a section on line 3-3 of Fig. 2 and Fig. 4 is an enlarged section on line 4 4 of Fig. 1.

The shorts illustrated in the drawing comprises two legs, a main portion, a waistband I and a panel 2 sewn in the back of the garment to provide fullness in the seat and through the crotch. The waistband I extends entirely around the garment and is made up of a double thickness of material 3 4. The waistband in the front part of the garment is of considerable width and of double thickness of material to provide a section for carrying the buttons 5 and buttonholes 6. In other portions the garment is made of a single thickness of material. The waistband at opposite sides of the garment, in the portion where it does not assume its greatest width, is non-continuous, being provided at each side with two overlapping portions '1 -8, each of double thickness of material and adapted to slide over each other. The inside portion 'I has the end of a piece of elastic webbing 9 secured between the two thicknesses of material constituting the section l, the other end of the elastic webbing being secured to the waistband proper on the side thereof nearest the buttons 5. This inner section of elastic 9 lies against the inside The section 8 has secured between the plies thereof the end of a piece of elastic In, which passes through an elongated slit II, its other end being secured to the waistband proper at I2. It will thus be observed that one section of elastic is positioned entirely on the inside of the waistband while the major portion of the other section of elastic is also positioned normally inside the waistband, one end extending through the slit II to the outside of the waistband in order to be Iattached to the section 8 with which it cooperates. The waistband is the substantial factor which determines the size of the garment and the garments are cut and made slightly smaller than the size required by the wearer. Normally, with the elastic meinbers released, as shown in Figs. 1 and 4, the elastic members are not observed from the outside of the garment, excepting for the very narrow portion of the elastic member I0 protruding from the slit I I to connect between the two plies of the section 8. In the released position of the elastic members, the two sections I--B overlap, as shown in Figs. 1 and 4 and the elastic is cut to length so that both sections of elastic B-IIJ lie against the inside of the waistband. The body of the garment immediately beneath the sections 7 8 is provided with a short slit I3, which is normally closed by an excess of material It provided in the side of the garment, which extends from the lower edge of the waistband down the sides of the legs somewhat short of the lower edge thereof. The excess material I4, at its top edge I5, merges into the waistband, being aligned with the edge of the section 3. Consequently, when the section 8 is caused to slide over the section 1, as the wearer of the garment moves, the excess material permits extension of the body of the garment along the portion where such excess is provided. When the elastic webbing relaxes, the sections '1 -8 slide over each other and the excess material again gathering. The aforementioned features of the garment, on the opposite sides thereof, are of like construction and therefore the characteristics of but one side have been described.

Itis to be noted that the wearers requirements for additional space, .at the waistband, is provided by the peculiar arrangement of the waistband construction and in the crotch and back of the garment by the fullness therein provided by the use of an inserted panel, cut to provide extra material at such portions. This arrangement insures the comfortable hanging of the garment from the Wearers hips without bunching or creeping of the garments on the `wearers body.

This invention, although illustrated in connection with shorts, is adaptable for use with other forms of garments intended to cover the portion of the human body at and below the hips, such for instance as pajamas, running pants and slacks.

I claim:

In a garment, a waistband, a body portion, and leg portions, said waistband being separated into sections by means of a slit extending through said waistband into said body portion, said sections being lapped one upon the other to form a pleat in said body portion, a second slit in said Waistband, extending through the entire thickness of said waistband, adjacent the end of a first section and extending through a second section, said end of said rst section substantially abutting the edges of said second slit, a substantially at elastic member of single thickness secured to said l0 end and extending through said second slit and 

